Issuu

STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903

75cI

VOLUME 119

Issue 42

WEEK OF OCTOBER 20, 2022

Brighton Chamber moves to the historic depot Brighton council fine with sharing victim services Fort Lupton, Lochbuie could combine efforts with Brighton after New Year BY SCOTT TAYLOR STAYLOR@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Chamber staff, board, and city officials gathered to cut the ribbon. BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Greater Brighton Chamber of Commerce celebrated a ribboncutting ceremony of its own Oct. 13, officially opening a new location at Brighton’s Historic Train Depot at 269 E. Bridge St.

PHOTO BY BELEN WARD

“This is my first week on the job, and so excited to be back here in Brighton,” said Robin Martinez, Brighton’s economic development president and CEO. “This is a beautiful space that Natalie built out here, and we are excited to partner with them. They’re right across the street from our office. I have a

passion for small business so I can’t wait to see what we can develop together.” The train depot was built in 1908 as a cabbage loading dock on Second Avenue on the west side of the tracks. SEE CUTTING, P4

Election 2022: How Secure is the Vote? BY VIGNESH RAMACHANDRAN COLORADO NEWS COLLABORTIVE

Colorado is known for its mailin-ballot system that some election experts have called the “gold standard” in the nation. But with unfounded claims of massive voter fraud rampant, some state residents remain concerned about whether their vote will get counted. The Colorado News Collaborative is speaking with nonpartisan election experts to help the public understand more about the integrity of the vote. One of them, M.V. (Trey) Hood III, is a professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia. His state has been the epicenter

of high-profile claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, which have been found false. This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length. How easy is it for someone to mess with the vote? Certainly every state has a lot of things that have been put in place to prevent voter fraud, so a lot of safeguards are in place. It’s not necessarily easy to commit voter fraud. It does happen — it’s pretty episodic and rare, though. But, the fact that it does happen some – that’s what gets into the news and that’s sort of what reinforces the belief that it’s just completely rampant.

LOCAL VOICES OBITUARIES SPORTS CLASSIFIEDS LEGALS

Georgia has been in the news in the last few years because of Trump supporters and allies claiming fraud in the 2020 Election. What are your thoughts about these claims, which have been found baseless? In Georgia, all kinds of claims were made, and there has just been no evidence at all. Outside of a handful of cases, there’s no evidence at all that there was voter fraud anywhere at the SEE VOTE, P50

[Editor’s note: In Colorado, the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation has documented 16 cases of voter fraud in the entire state since 2005.]

LOCAL

2 • Brighton considers 6 private park pattrols 7 9 • Page 2 52 54

SPORTS • Riverdale Ridge Softball clinches playoff berth

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Brighton leaders are fine expanding their current Victim Services program — which provides counseling and other services for crime victims — to include Fort Lupton and Lochbuie. “Well, that’s a great idea,” Brighton Councilor Mary Ellen Pollack said during the City Council’s Oct. 11 study session meeting. “They are our neighbors and I think that the way times are now — we all know that it’s not pretty out there — and we can help them and they can help us. You never do know when we are going to have a real big emergency and it will take more than one department to deal with it.” Colorado municipalities are required to provide some level of victim rights services. Brighton and Commerce City have combined their efforts since 2014 and Fort Lupton, Lochbuie and other communities relied upon the Weld County Sheriff’s Department to provide those services. Weld County announced earlier this year that it would stop providing those services after Dec. 31 of this year. “Brighton and Commerce City Victim Services have established a reputation that far exceeds the normal services that victims receive,” Kim Messina, Brighton victim services manager, said. “We have been recognized locally, nationally and across the state. I don’t tell you that so you’ll say what a great job we do. We have built a program that is successful and based upon best practices that truly work.” SEE SERVICES, P3